Haiti at boiling point as former dictator returns

The former Haitian dictator made a surprise return from exile after almost 25 years.

Lee Celano: Reuters

The international community is struggling to make sense of the surprise return of former Haitian president and dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier.

His sudden appearance in the capital Port-au-Prince yesterday stunned everyone and has thrown more doubt over a disputed and stalled presidential election process.

The US state department has refused to comment and today Mr Duvalier, 59, cancelled an expected press conference where it was hoped he might explain what he is up to.

When the former dictator flew in on Air France after being thrown out of Haiti nearly a quarter of a century ago, there was a group of cheering supporters at Port-au-Prince Airport to greet him.

Dressed in a suit and looking older and heavier, Mr Duvalier told reporters he had returned to help Haiti.

His companion Veronique Roy emerged briefly saying there was a lot of emotion, nothing was planned and Mr Duvalier had returned on a diplomatic passport.

There was only silence from the Haitian government, though the country's expat community is nervous.

Haitian-born international relations expert Robert Fatton says outgoing president Renee Preval may have engineered Baby Doc's return because of his anger at criticism from the US and election observers from the Organisation of American States over Haiti's recent disputed first round of voting to elect his successor.

"I am very worried. You have all the ingredients for some real trouble in the immediate future and Haiti has been hovering over the precipice for a long time," he said.

"Haitian politicians, depending on their particular position on the spectrum, have argued that this is something Renee Preval himself has engineered so he could deflect attention from the current political crisis about the election."

The first round of voting sparked riots after reports of fraud and voter intimidation.

A run-off scheduled for this week has been delayed indefinitely.

Mr Duvalier has been accused of corruption and of killing and torturing his political opponents, and human rights groups are calling for his arrest.

"There is great disenchantment to the current situation among Haitians, that Haitians are fed up with what is going on with the Haitian political class, with the electoral problems and also with the international community," he said.